Is Vitamin C Powder The New Miracle Ingredient For Younger-Looking Skin?

Vitamin C was one of the most-searched-for beauty products of 2017. No surprise there—the superstar antioxidant can help brighten the complexion, even out skin tone, protect against environmental damage, erase brown spots, and even increase collagen production. There’s just one problem: Vitamin C can lose its potency just by opening the bottle of serum or moisturizer that contains it.

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“Vitamin C is very unstable biologically as the molecule oxidizes upon exposure to air, heat, or light,” explains Sandy Skotnicki, MD, a board certified dermatologist in Toronto and assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Toronto. “Once oxidized it is not beneficial to the skin.”

Enter vitamin C powder, a powdered version of vitamin C that has all the above benefits without the instability. You just add the mix-as-you-go ingredient into your favorite serum or moisturizer, and presto!—the powder stays more powerful, lasts longer, and supercharges products you already have. (Psst... these are the best drugstore facial moisturizers.) Win, win, and win, right?

Yes, on paper the powder is a total prize, but after doing some digging we found some downsides. Here's what you need to know before adding vitamin C powder to your beauty routine:

Concentration

Pro: Many of the powders on the market are 100% pure L-ascorbic acid, a form of vitamin C that is water-soluble. This is way more concentrated than your typical vitamin C serum, which usually contains 10% to 20%.

Con: More isn’t always better. “Vitamin C is not effective in concentrations less than 8% and may be irritating in concentrations over 20%,” says Fayne L. Frey, MD, a board certified dermatologist in New York. So if you’re adding powder to a teaspoon of serum, don’t mix in more than 1/5 of a teaspoon of vitamin C.

Mixability

Pro: You can mix vitamin C powder at home into products you already have—“and because you’re already using the product, the risk of irritation or becoming allergic to the product is low,” says Elizabeth Tanzi, MD, a board certified dermatologist in Maryland and associate professor of dermatology at George Washington University Medical Center. (What type of sensitive skin are you?)

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Con: Mixing it with your own products could reduce the powder’s potency. “Vitamin C may become inactive with some of the other ingredients you are mixing it with, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the vitamin C,” warns Tanzi, who suggests sticking to products with fewer ingredients. On the flipside, your product could contain ingredients that supercharge vitamin C. One study found that vitamin E and ferulic acid increase vitamin C’s effectiveness eight-fold.

Make your own avocado face mask at home:

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Effectiveness

Pro: The powder is a potential miracle worker for brightening, tightening, and protecting skin.

Con: It can’t work unless it penetrates the skin—and for that you need to pair it with the right pH. “Vitamin C powders need an acidic vehicle to be absorbed and released into the skin and it’s hard to know the pH of your oil or moisturizer,” says Skotnicki. For ideal absorption, the optimal pH is 3 to 3.5. (Prefer to use a vitamin C serum and eliminate guesswork? Dermatologists recommend these 6 products.)

Texture

Pro: Vitamin C in powder form has the extra benefit of exfoliation. The granular quality can gently remove dead skin cells for a glowing finish.

Cost

Pro: You don’t have to drop a fortune to try it for yourself. Sure, some powders on the market don’t come cheap (this one from True Botanicals goes for $90, but it’s bolstered with ferulic acid), but you can get this one from The Ordinary for less than $6. Philosophy also sells bottles for $39 on amazon.com.

Con: You’ll know quickly if the powder irritates your sensitive skin, but you won’t get anti-aging benefits overnight. “As with any new product, you want to give it about a month before deciding on if it’s working for you,” says Tanzi.

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